Showtime for Agoura Results in a 17-4 Trouncing of Royal

There was supposed to be a Marmonte League girls’ water polo showdown between Royal and Agoura highs on Wednesday at Agoura High, but the Chargers turned it into a major showing up, 17-4.

Royal Coach Devin Hurst wanted to prevent a repeat of the first quarter of the teams’ first meeting, Jan. 11, when Agoura outscored the Highlanders, 4-0, en route to a 9-3 victory.

Agoura (17-3, 7-0 in league play), ranked No. 2 in Southern Section Division II, did not take long to ruin Hurst’s strategy.

Colleen Schiman scored 17 seconds into the match on a power play, and DeDe Perram’s added a goal on a four-meter penalty shot 23 seconds later.

Joanna Antonsen followed with the first of her six goals at 5:43 and Cameron Pearce scored the first of her two goals at 4:04 to make it 4-0.

“That’s what you call getting mentally beat, right from the start,” Hurst said. “You could see how much they wanted the ball and we didn’t.

“They played playoff water polo and we didn’t.”

Said Agoura Coach Jason Rosenthal: “That’s something we had talked about, trying to be aggressive and not just put the ball into one girl.

“It makes things happen when more than one girl plays offense, so we try to get all six involved.”

Rosenthal said his team received a wake-up call last week, after scoring only three goals against defending Division II champion Santa Barbara while revolving its offense around Perram.

Hollis Reilly scored for Royal (18-7, 5-2), No. 4 in Division II, with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter on a power play, and Antonsen’s second goal at 1:07 gave the Chargers a 5-1 lead.

Rosenthal pulled five of his six All-Southern Section players with a 9-1 lead midway through the six-goal second quarter, leaving Erika Clark to play with reserves.

Clark scored twice playing with the starters, and added a third goal with 1:15 left in the half.

In the third quarter, Carrie Karamas scored twice for Royal and Jennifer Natroup scored once, while Agoura scored twice on long lobs by Keriann Miranda.

“My reserves have to defend my starters every day in practice,” Rosenthal said.

Agoura made 17 of 28 shots, with Antonsen hitting six of eight and Clark making three of five. Pearce and Miranda both were two for two, and Graziella Caredda finished with 10 saves.

Royal, which plays Thousand Oaks on Friday for second place, made four of 17 shots.